Rock Creek Restoration

Rock Creek is an intermittent stream located in unincorporated Placer County north of the City of Auburn within the Coon Creek watershed. The main stem of Rock Creek originates just above Rock Creek Lake in the foothills west of the community of Bowman. The stream course continues below the Rock Creek Lake dam where it is joined by a minor tributary branch located to the south. This tributary, which is the subject of this feasibility study, originates near the intersection of Bell Road and Highway 49 on the north side of the Target Store parking lot. Below the confluence of the tributary with the main stem, Rock Creek passes under Highway 49 and progresses northwesterly through the Auburn District Regional Park to its confluence with Dry Creek, a tributary to Coon Creek. Rock Creek is part of the Nevada Irrigation District’s commercial water delivery system. While much of the property immediately adjacent to the Rock Creek tributary is undeveloped, urban land uses within its watershed have had a significant impact on its condition. These land uses include residential development, apartments, a church, local roads, Highway 49, and commercial shopping centers.

The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive approach to enhancing the Rock Creek tributary that satisfies multiple stakeholder interests while optimizing diversity of habitats, water quality, and passive recreation benefits. The site offers an opportunity to provide an off-street pedestrian and bicycle connection between Auburn District Regional Park, residential areas to the north, and the commercial centers at Highway 49 and Bell Road.

General goals and objectives have been established for the project:

Improve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the tributary;

Incorporation of a mixed-use commercial/residential development with outdoor gathering space that utilizes permeable paving, filtration wetlands and other LID techniques and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) concepts.

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